Recent developments in the CIS comity of nations show their potential of restoring the historical link between the Central Asian Trade Route and the Silk Road.
A Delhi-based UN Tourism and environment specialist
Nearly 75 years ago, when China changed guard, the Central Asian Trade Route seemed to close for good. It was a route that had pushed south-north, from the mandis of north India, threading the Great Himalayan and Karakoram crests to reach the Central Asian desert oases of Yarkand and Kashgar. Ahead, it trickled out to the ancient Silk Road, the alluring commercial and cultural artery running east-west from the Chinese edge of the Pacific to the European shores of the Atlantic. Its most dramatic segment lay between Xian in mainland China and Astrakhan where the Volga drains into the Caspian Sea.
The Chinese merchants knew nought little about the transcontinental haulage of their silken wares. The first bargain was usually their final commercial foray. Even the Silk Road appellation is relatively recent. In any case, by the 4th century AD, the Road had lost its original thrust. While the lower Tarim river changed course, desiccating the Lou-lan oasis on the crucial Dunhuang desert crossing, Chinese maritime forays accelerated the decline of the Silk Road. But now, when climate change threatens to put a hatchet to human creativity, diehard tourism and security zealots have sounded the bugle for its resurrection via the Belt-Road initiative.
Besides, formation of the CIS countries, which replaced Soviet Russia’s south-eastern enclaves bordering Chinese Turkestan, began to look upon the Silk Road as a tourism revenue opportunity. At one level, this hinges on petroleum geo-politics, draping the region in a contemporary Great Game shroud. But from quite another standpoint, it rests on tourism supply and demand for visitor interest seeking a remote outdoor experience.
Expectedly, marketing initiatives have targetted the Silk Road potential. A little over two decades ago, the year 2002 sported a dual halo as the United Nations’ International Year of Mountains (IYM) and International Year of Ecotourism (IYE). At the Global Mountain Summit in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, the core IYM concern was to “promote the conservation and sustainable development of mountain regions, thereby ensuring the well-being of mountain and lowland communities.” This has a strong link for India, home to diverse eco-systems and the world’s tallest mountain range, with India’s National Tourism Policy placing the Himalaya among the world’s greatest adventure tourism assets.
Like its CIS neighbours, Kyrgyzstan has a special Silk Road tourism focus. Woven into this timeless trail are its majestic Tien Shan mountains, the glistening purity of Issy-Kul Lake and the Osh-Fergana corridor in the Syr Darya flood plain to Babur’s origins in neighbouring Uzbekistan. Trained visitor handling agents enable the experience of a besh-barmak meal in nomadic yurt tents, shyrdrak and alakiyiz carpet-making or visits to open air heritage museums and Ala-Archa gorge in Kyrgyz National Park. Other packages target special interest in the robust host communities’ cultural and natural heritage, horse riding, bird-watching, mountain biking, photography, the broad sweep of the steppes of Central Asia, trekking and mountaineering.
Direct non-stop access from Delhi with Bishkek (Kyrgyztan Airlines) takes two hours and forty minutes. Other CIS capitals including Tashkent, Almaty, Dushanbe and Ashkabad have similar connectivity potential with Delhi. These air lanes provide unparalleled views of the Central Asian watershed. The Delhi-Bishkek sector for example lies right across the Wakhan Corridor and the Pamirs with the summits of Nanga Parbat and K2 dominating the great glaciers of the western Karakoram.
In the reverse direction, there lies inbound tourism potential from the CIS countries to India. The India-chaired G20 Tourism Working Group Goa Roadmap for Tourism in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Panel 1 ‘Green Tourism’ had the key presentation entitled ‘Modus Operandi for Targeted Implementation’.
At a broader level, India’s present 42 World Heritage Sites (34 cultural, seven natural, one mixed) and 80 Ramsar Sites (wetlands of international importance) are each endowed with tourism equity. Every Indian Ramsar Site, from wetlands crowded with migratory birds to lakes supporting aquatic life, has a unique conservation focus to preserve these ecosystems, committed to sustainable environment progression, together with awareness of the dangers of overtourism.
In the current unsteady global economic and geo-political scenario, the tourism sector’s resilience is evident. UN Tourism has estimated that, following a strong 2023 attaining 88% of pre-pandemic levels with 1.3 billion international arrivals, international tourism should return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024, underpinned by unleashed pent-up demand, increased air connectivity and strong recovery of Asian markets and destinations.
Judging by present indications, private Indian carriers appear set to plough into what seems a reliable revenue opportunity. Such a step will improve both service standards and seat capacity. By facilitating greater intra-regional travel for both business and leisure, it can heighten the revival of post-Covid international tourism demand. More importantly, this could solidify private scheduled airline operations to the CIS countries.
The sector’s latent potential is evident from the bare modicum of visae issued annually in each direction between India and Kyrgyzstan. With modest increases in seat capacity, backed by marketing hard-sell, this traffic could at least be trebled by targetting hill station vacationers, outdoor enthusiasts and even honeymooners. Investment in moderate standardized hotel properties could also be explored.
Visitors from India will empathise with the CIS Silk Road product, season and price. Thus, the ideal CIS destination time matches the Indian May-June hot weather holiday period when comfortable double-sharing resort accommodation is attractively priced. The rates rise progressively in their main tourist season through July, August and September.
For sampling the wider mystique of Central Asia, a 17-day Silk Road safari for example may originate at Tashkent. Touching the fabled cities of Khiva, Bukhara, Timur’s hometown Shakhrizabz, Samarkand and Andijan, it could proceed to Bishkek and Tash-Rabat caravanserai to drive across the 3750 metreTorugart Pass for Kashgar in Chinese Turkestan. Realigning north-eastward by air to Urumqi, capital of the Chinese Xinjiang province, the tour would conclude in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The time is right for bilateral protocols to access these markets at both ends.
